PM Dung welcomes three Asian foreign ministers

HA NOI — Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung yesterday received South Korea's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Yu Myung Hwan; North Korea's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Pak Ui Chun; and the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Katsuya Okada.

During his meeting with South Korea's Yu, Dung expressed his pleasure with developments in the Viet Nam-South Korea strategic partnership.

He thanked South Korea for the support and assistance it had given Viet Nam, particularly regarding official development assistance. Dung said he hoped the country would create favourable conditions for Vietnamese exports and follow through on agreed ODA.

He also thanked the South Korean government for the assistance it had given to Vietnamese studying and working in the country. He also said he hoped the government would help Viet Nam build a South Korean university in the central region.

Dung said the Vietnamese Government welcomed and supported South Korean investors in the country.

He suggested that South Korea co-operate with ASEAN countries on boosting the efficient implementation of the ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Area and applauded developments in ASEAN-South Korean relations.

Dung thanked the South Korean government for inviting Viet Nam, as ASEAN chair, to participate in the G-20 Summit in November this year. He added that Viet Nam highly appreciated the planned visit by South Korea's President to Viet Nam for the ASEAN Summit in Ha Noi in October.

Yu said South Korea welcomed Dung's participation in the G-20 Summit and spoke highly of Viet Nam's socio-economic development.

He expressed his deep regret over the murder of a Vietnamese bride in South Korea, and vowed to do his utmost to prevent similar atrocities occurring again.

He asked the Vietnamese Government to support South Korean investors in the country, and said he hoped Viet Nam would continue to support the 80,000-90,000 Koreans living and working in the country.

He said South Korea would continue to provide ODA to Viet Nam and assist Vietnamese students and workers living in South Korea.

Bilateral trade in the first six months of the year reached US$5 billion, an increase of 40 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Consolidating ties

Welcoming Democratic People's Republic of Korea's Pak, Dung affirmed that the Vietnamese Party, Government and people always attached great importance to developing co-operative ties and traditional friendship with the country.

He said he believed that with both nations' support, Viet Nam-DPRK co-operative and friendly ties would continue to flourish, contributing to peace, stability and development in the Asia-Pacific region and the world.

On the subject of the Korean Peninsula, Dung affirmed that Viet Nam advocated peace, stability and denuclearisation of the region and support for dialogue. Dung said he hoped six-party talks on the denuclearisation of the peninsula would resume.

He said Viet Nam supported the July 9 UN Security Council president's stance on the sinking of Cheonan. He said Viet Nam would always object to the use or threat of force to settle territorial disputes.

He said Viet Nam applauded efforts made by both parties to settle the dispute through peaceful means, and urged restraint.

Pak expressed his pleasure at being invited to Viet Nam, and applauded Viet Nam's enhanced role in international affairs.

He said the DPRK was committed to building co-operative and traditional friendly relations with Viet Nam.

Strategic partnership

In his meeting with Japan's Okada, Dung said he wished the two nations would continue to promote a "strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia."

He said he highly valued Japanese co-operation and assistance with Viet Nam's socio-economic development and international economic integration. He also applauded the fact that Japan has been Viet Nam's biggest ODA provider and one of its main investors and trading partners.

Okada said the Japanese government attached great importance to developing multi-faceted relations with Viet Nam and that it would continue to support Vietnamese agencies with implementing agreements reached by the leaders of the two countries, particularly in economics, investment, energy, urban planning, development and human resource training.

This year, Japan, as APEC president, and Viet Nam, as ASEAN chair, would have many opportunities to co-operate on regional and international issues, he said.

The same day, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung met Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, while Party Central Committee Secretary Nguyen Van Chi received Singaporean Foreign Minister George Yeo. — VNS